We believe Catholic officials, in Hawaii, California, Texas and Colorado, should use their vast resources – parish bulletins, church websites, diocesan newspapers and pulpit announcements – to warn families about him.

In addition to his Hawaii conviction, Matson has been accused of abusing boys in Colorado and California. Furthermore, a Colorado man filed a civil suit against Matson for sexual molesting and assaulting him at 13 years old at St. Andrew’s Seminary in the 1970s. (Miami attorney Adam Horowitz represented the victim.)

Matson also worked in San Antonio and as a chaplain at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. He often performed magic tricks as a way to approve and impress youngsters.

Now that Matson has been released on parole, the duty of his Catholic supervisors isn’t over. They recruited, educated, ordained, hired, transferred and shielded him. They still have a moral and civic obligation to safeguard kids from him by warning citizens about him.